Tribute bands keep it (almost) real

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / STEVE SHERIDAN
Dan Kirouac, of Westminster, plays a piece of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, one of the fan favorites of his Beatles tribute band, Beatles for Sale.

WESTMINSTER -- Dan Kirouac said when his band, Beatles For Sale, gets on stage it's obvious they're not really the Beatles.

For one, Beatles For Sale has five members, while the Beatles had four.

And members of Beatles For Sale do not wear the iconic "Ed Sullivan Show" black suits with white shirts and dark mop-top haircuts.

"The suit look was really only for a year and a half, and they were together for eight years," said Kirouac, who lives in Westminster. He said some tribute bands spend thousands of dollars re-creating that look, including $300 for boots and $1,000 for wigs. He said the band adopted many looks over their years.

Beatles For Sale members wear maroon shirts with black ties, and when the temperature is comfortable they have black, collarless suit jackets. During longer sets they change into colorful mismatched outfits during intermission.

While a cover band will draw from many artists, tribute bands stick to one group and attempt to capture the nuances of the band, including looks, stage antics and mannerisms.

"We try to capture the delivery of it," said Kirouac, who plays keyboard and some guitar. Weekly rehearsals are military-style drills where they try to capture the timing and feel of the boys from Liverpool.

Vocals are always faithful, but Kirouac said they are willing to take small liberties with the instruments.

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The Beatles are a common choice for tribute bands, according to Kirouac, because of their marketability, which includes their popularity, wide selection of songs, lack of offensive lyrics and appeal to different age groups.

"Other bands just don't have the popularity to draw a huge crowd all the time," said Kirouac.

Beatles For Sale performs 30 to 35 dates in a given year. Kirouac is a case manager for a human-services state agency by day and said they can't travel too far for concerts.

Courtesy photo
Ken Pittman, who plays the role of Bon Jovi in his group Living On A Bad Name, said he wishes he could play in a Van Halen tribute band but his only talent is in singing like Jon Bon Jovi.

While there are no official boundaries, Kirouac said the different Beatles tribute bands tend to stay away from each other's territory. Beatles For Sale's area includes central Massachusetts, central Maine and southern Rhode Island. All Together Now has most of New Hampshire. The British Invasion Tribute controls southern New Hampshire, Boston and parts of Western Massachusetts.

There's no violence involved, as in a gang turf war, but Kirouac said there would be some "grumbling" if they tried to play a series of shows in someone else's territory.

Vermont is currently unclaimed territory, according to Kirouac.

He said they can play about 150 of the 200 Beatles songs fans might recognize.

Beatles For Sale lead guitarist Steve Caisse co-owns a vehicle data-collection company that specializes in power sports, RVs and tractors. He said their performances are more of an interpretation than a copy.

"I don't think we sound like the Beatles as much as we capture the feel for the music," said Caisse, 45, also of Westminster. He said he believes getting the essence of the music is more important than anything else.

"The audience will color in the rest and think you sound more like it than you do," he added.

Choosing his words and tone carefully to avoid sounding critical, Caisse said some fans approach them after shows to point out inaccuracies in the performance.

"I call them the Beatles police," said Caisse.

He said a common point they make is that drummer Mike "Mingo" Christian has a five-piece drum kit.

"Everyone's vision of the Ringo kit is 1964," said Caisse, when Ringo had only four pieces. He said the fifth piece came later on and Christian needs it to play later songs like "Let It Be." So many people bring it up that Christian has considered leaving the kit off for the beginning of their set and adding it later.

Caisse writes and records original songs on his own for fun, something he can't do on stage as part of the tribute band. He doesn't feel he's missing out on playing his own stuff.

"If I'm missing out on anything ... it's that for most of my playing career, I played in more jam-band type situations," said Caisse. He said he misses improvising with a group on stage with no idea where the song is going, like he did when he was part of a jazz band.

"The Beatles stuff is very specific and thought out," he said. Caisse said the one exception is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" where he gets to improvise a guitar solo.

Improvised jam sessions are an essential part Boston-based Fennario, a Grateful Dead tribute band, according to lead guitarist and founder Mike Young.

"That's one of my favorite things about doing the Dead is we're not doing it note for note," said Young. "You have to have an innate knowledge of the music and the music theory. It makes it more real, more spontaneous.

Young has been a Grateful Dead fan since his mid-teens, the same time he learned the guitar, and has always played their music. He said the only way he knows how to jam is in the style of Jerry Garcia.

He said live performances allow them to get into the spirit of the music and not worry about being a perfect imitation.

"If I was going to try to play an album version of a song note for note, it's never going to be exactly right, and the fans are going to notice that," said Young, who installs telecommunications equipment for a living. He said Fennario performs at least twice a month.

Ken Pittman plays the role of Bon Jovi in his group Living On A Bad Name. A father of six from Dartmouth, Pittman, 47, runs his own detective agency and is a fill-in talk-radio host. He said his group formed three years ago in New Bedford when a visiting symphony orchestra specializing in rock music asked the city to put a few bands together to play well-known songs.

Pittman had his own radio show at the time and was paired with a news anchor, two newspaper reporters and Ethan Brosh, a metal guitarist who teaches at Berklee School of Music. Pittman's 13-year-old son, Keith, came in as the drummer.

Brosh was impressed by Pittman's Bon Jovi impression and suggested keeping the band together. The news people have been replaced, but Brosh and Keith are still part of the group.

Pittman said he'd rather be in a Van Halen tribute band but he's just too good at impersonating Bon Jovi. Friends of his are in the Van Halen tribute band Diver Down, and Pittman said their singer, Charlie Bonanno, is a perfect match for David Lee Roth he could never compete with.

"Even his speaking voice is remarkable," said Pittman. "The reality is, my vocal cords line up a lot more with Bon Jovi than they do with David Lee Roth." He said while his Bon Jovi voice is top-notch, his appearance requires a good 30 yards of distance to complete the illusion.

Pittman said the real Jon Bon Jovi doesn't sound like he did when he became famous.

"He doesn't have the same rough, gruff '80s voice," said Pittman. He said this is a deliberate change suggested by vocal coaches to protect his voice from a heavy touring schedule and sounds technically better. Pittman said his own performance is based on the original sound.

"I don't play 26 cities in 30 days like he does. We play three to six times a month. I've learned to protect my voice," he said.

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